Weevils in the apartment: how to get rid of the pest, prevent its appearance

Good day. Last month, I had to spend four days on personal issues in the bustle of the city.

She rented an apartment - there the owner even offered to use his stocks of cereals and pasta. But, a little not fate.

And the reason is extremely simple: as soon as I opened a jar of buckwheat, weevils started swarming there. It’s clear that I’ve been eating other foods all these days. During the eviction, she told the unlucky landlord about the weevils in the apartment and how to get rid of these pests. I share information with you.

How to deal with weevil in the kitchen and in the apartment

You open a packet of flour, and there is a small bug. It seems not scary yet. But then you find them in other supplies. These gluttonous insects are called weevils or elephants.

They destroy cereals, pasta, bread, and under adverse conditions they simply hide. Therefore, often the mistress discovers the enemy when most of the products are infected.

Who are they

In total weevils, there are 65 thousand species. On the former territory of the USSR 5 thousand species live.

Basically, in the kitchen there are such bugs:

1. Barn. The insect cannot fly, but the legs compensate for this shortcoming. The pest easily runs long distances. The bug, though small (5 mm in length), but voracious. He feasts on cereals, flour, pasta.
2. Rice. It destroys not only rice. The beetle eats other cereals calmly and does not disdain bread. This species can use wings. It infects grain in the fields.

In a private house, the following types of this pest can become a problem:

Only a specialist can determine the type of elephant “by eye”.

People bring the pests to the apartment or pantry. It is difficult to identify an infected seed in the factory packaging by eye.

“Uninvited guests” move to the garden from neighboring plots. Many elephants living in the wild can fly.Therefore, it is not difficult for them to travel a long distance to find a place to live.

How to get rid of an insect

All weevils living in the room are destroyed equally. How to get rid of weevils in the kitchen? In order for the pest to disappear, the following should be done:

1. If you find traces of the activity of an insect (larvae, chitinous shells, spoiled grains), then inspect other products. Bugs can hide in seasonings, tea, medicinal herbs.
2. Put the infected products and their packaging in a tight bag, and then send them to the bin.
3. Wet the cabinets wet. Process shelves with a solution of vinegar or soda.

How to get rid of barn weevils in cereals? If the elephant did not have time to spoil the products, then they can be saved:

Residents of private houses encounter a weevil on the site. If he made himself known, then the following should be done:

• Plow the ground to destroy egg clutches.
• Remove infected plants and tree branches.
• Apply insecticides.

Folk methods of dealing with the elephant

To get rid of "uninvited guests" completely help folk recipes and "chemistry". It’s better to first try to fight the “home” ways. If the number of elephants is small, they will do just fine.

There are several compounds that can destroy the "enemy":

If pests only began to appear, then they can be collected, and infected leaves removed.

Indoor plants after processing are transplanted into another pot.

Pest Control Chemicals

Poisonous substances are used when the beetles managed to become masters of the house or plot.

It is worth remembering that toxic substances are not sprayed near food and utensils. The preparations themselves are stored out of the reach of children.

For the fight using the following drugs: Inta-Vir, Fufanon. The solution is treated with leaves and flowers.

The following insecticides are used on the site:

• Actellic
• Karbofos
• Anthony F
• Nemabakt.

Plants and trees should be treated five days before flowering. Reprocessing is performed after a week.

The biological way to destroy elephants

Another effective way is recognized biological:

1. powder with nematodes (sold in the store) is diluted with water according to the instructions;
2. after an hour, the adhesive substance is removed from the container and water is added;
3. plants watered from a watering can after sunset.

Larvae are destroyed by nematodes. Bugs disappear from the site.

Preventative measures

If there is no desire to coexist with weevils, several rules should be followed:

Residents of private homes are suitable for the following measures:

• Plant garlic and onions around fruit crops. Weevils do not tolerate the pungent odor of these plants.
• Do not plant raspberries and strawberries nearby.
• Loosen the ground from time to time.

In order not to encounter an elephant in an apartment or house, you should check its production date and carefully examine the product for signs of insects before buying a cereal.

To prevent the appearance of weevil in the suburban area, dig the ground and treat the plants with chemicals.

If you follow preventive measures, then there will be no one to fight with.

What are dangerous weevils and how to deal with them?

Weevil beetles lay eggs in flower buds. Larvae complete destructive work by eating buds from the inside. Fighting weevils is difficult, but possible.

"Flower eaters" - this is the name of these dangerous pests of garden, garden and ornamental crops. Among them are many weevils or elephants attacking garden flowers and domestic flowers.

A distinctive feature of representatives of a large family is the elongated front of the head with antennae (rostrum). Its similarity to the trunk caused the birth of another name for this group of insects - “elephants”.

The body of weevils living in a temperate climate does not exceed a few millimeters in length. The color of the beetles is brown, gray, red and almost black. The whitish body shape of the larvae is sickle-shaped, they are legless, with a small brown head.

The main signs of occurrence

Adult beetles eat the edges of leaves, leaving semicircular notches. Also, flower beetles damage the buds by gnawing round holes in them. Because of this, flower buds with larvae inside do not open, darken and dry out.

If the flower nevertheless blossoms, then on the corolla petals the characteristic round openings left by the weevils are noticeable. If the larvae live in the soil, then eat roots and stems. The plant withers or dies when severely damaged.

How to fight

Different ways to deal with color beetles work well together. After mechanical cleaning, chemical treatments or spraying with infusions of insecticidal plants are carried out.

Mechanical methods of control include:

1. inspection of plants, manual collection of beetles;
2. removal of shoots damaged by larvae, flower buds (buds).

Chemical methods: spraying with solutions of Aktellik, Fitoverm, Fufanon-Nova, Kinmiks, Permethrin, Bona Forte. It is recommended to alternate insecticides.

Folk remedies against weevils. From the available funds you can make effective environmentally friendly substances to combat weevil (suitable for both indoor and garden flowers).

Most often, home flowers are damaged by weevils when they are taken outside in the summer. If you find pests on plants that are already blooming, spraying is unlikely to give the desired effect. It is worth resorting to more radical measures and apply the chemical method to kill insects.

How to get rid of weevils in cereals?

Barn weevil is one of the oldest insects. Even the ancient Egyptians fought with him. And now the weevil is a real disaster for any housewife.

Temperature. Weevils are thermophilic.At a temperature of +5 0 numbness attacks the beetles, and at -5 0 the larvae and eggs gradually begin to die.

If you put bags of flour and cereal for 2-3 days in the freezer, and in winter take out at thirty-degree frost for 5-6 hours, then destroy the pest. All cereals and flour purchased should be treated with cold to prevent weevils.

It is also detrimental to beetles and sharp heating. Therefore, brought cereals can be heated in the oven at 60-80 C.

Garlic. Place peeled garlic cloves in a cereal bowl. Beetles cannot stand his presence.

Nutmeg. A few pieces of walnut are placed mainly in flour and pasta.

Hot pepper. Dried pods of hot pepper will scare the weevil away from peas, beans and other legumes.

Lavender. Can be placed on a shelf with cereals. The smell is not like weevils

Soap (vinegar water). Used mainly for washing cabinets. If you wash the shelves of cabinets with cereals with these products, then the infection of cereals from each other with weevils is negligible.

Clove oil. When washing shelves, use clove oil. Just a couple of droplets will help scare away the bug.

Do not be greedy! Do not make large stocks. If your cereal has been stored for years, then most likely it is full of bugs.

Do not regret it! After checking cereals, flour, coffee, milk powder, etc., and finding a large number of weevils in them, immediately destroy the infected stocks to prevent infection of all your products.

It is impossible to eat cereals, flour, pasta infected with weevil!

Rice weevil: how to get rid of a pest

Today, there are a large number of insects that damage crops. One of them is rice weevil. This is an insect belonging to the order of beetles.

It causes very significant damage to the crop, so you need to get rid of the pest called "rice weevil". Otherwise, the insect will multiply rapidly and then it will be much more difficult to cope with it.

Insect features

Today there are more than 50 thousand varieties of this pest. The insect prefers a warmer climate, therefore it mainly lives in southern countries.

In addition to rice grains, pests live in crops such as:

1. Corn.
2. Wheat.
3. Buckwheat grain.
4. Barley.

In the apartment, rice weevil "settles" in flour products and pasta. In summer, insects predominantly live on the ground, and in winter take refuge in underground tunnels or under grain (in a barn).

Appearance. The size pest is not very large. On average, his body length varies from 23 to 35 mm. Rice weevils are usually dark brown.

Food. Rice weevils feed on cereals. Thanks to the powerful rostrum, the insect easily grinds rice, buckwheat, wheat and barley.

Life cycle and reproduction

Pests propagate in grains. The female initially gnaws a hole, and then lays offspring there. On average, the clutch numbers from 300 to 500 eggs.Then the female “seals” the habitat of the offspring with her saliva.

After this stage, the embryonic period of larval development begins. On average, it lasts from 6 to 11 days. On day 12, the larvae are born up to 3 mm in size.

The time of development and appearance of larvae depends on some indicators. The optimum temperature is 12 ° heat, and humidity should not exceed 15 °. Adults live no more than six months.

Insect damage

The main harm of these insects is damage to crops. Weevils gnaw and infect many cereals intended for sale.

According to statistics, annually this harm spoils about 20-30% of the reserves.
Rice weevils enter the barns (storage rooms for grain and cereals) from the field.

Danger to humans. Rice weevils harm not only agricultural crops, but also human health. When consuming an infected product, there is a possibility of a strong allergic reaction that will provoke a complication of existing chronic diseases.

The harm to humans from rice weevil also lies in infection with fungal infections that are found in insect droppings.

The larvae contain carcinogens, which, when ingested, can cause the development of oncological tumors and the suspension of tissue regeneration.

How to get rid of rice weevil

Crops are affected by pests in the fields. If the grain is not processed properly, then insects enter the living quarters of people along with the acquired cereals. It is not always possible to immediately discern them, because the eggs of the larvae are hidden in grains.

Therefore, it is recommended that all cereals be placed immediately after purchase and inspection in plastic, glass or metal containers with tight lids.

To prevent the propagation of rice weevils, it is recommended to reduce the stocks of cereals, that is, do not buy products in advance for several months.

Chemicals

Chemical industry products are used exclusively for large volumes of grain stocks.

It is not recommended to use them at home, as if used improperly, a person will do more harm to his health.

For spraying, insecticides are used - chemicals that belong to the group of pesticides. They are intended to destroy insects and their larvae.

These drugs are very toxic, so their use is carried out strictly according to the instructions in order to minimize possible harm to the human body. Insecticides in the control of grain pests are used for spraying and fumigation (sublimation of dry matter with the formation of vapors).

These drugs are divided into several types according to the spectrum of action. For cereals, only insecticides are used that infect with toxic fumes (fumigant preparations) and insecticides through the digestive tract (intestinal).

Popular fumigant products:

• "Gin".
• Alfos
• Heliophos.
• "Toxifos."
• Magtoxin.

Temperature changes

You can fight rice weevils with the help of elevated or lowered temperatures. These insects are heat-loving, therefore, when the degrees are lowered, they quickly die. The optimum temperature for their development ranges from 10 ° to 15 °.

If you notice that these bugs have settled in your food supply, then you should put all the cereals and pasta in the freezer. Usually pests die within a month. For rice weevils, a temperature of not higher than 5 ° heat is considered critical.

Falling into such conditions, insects become paralyzed, they cannot multiply and move. For the purpose of prevention, it is recommended that cereals be taken out after frost for 30 to 50 minutes (or put in the freezer).

Temperature conditions above 50 ° heat also kill pests. In order to destroy them, all infected products must be put in the oven and heated.

Folk remedies

You can get rid of pests in the kitchen by decomposing in cabinets where cereals of lavender twigs and bay leaves are stored. This smell repels insects and makes them migrate to other places. You can also get rid of rice weevil with garlic.

Garlic. It will be necessary to arrange the slices of this product in the gastronomic containers where the provisions are stored.

Getting rid of insects is difficult, but likely. To do this, you need to view cereals before cooking, store food in tightly closed containers. Rice weevil often lives in flour, so it should be sieved before use.

Remember that when a pest is detected, it is strictly forbidden to eat the product. Otherwise, it can contribute to the development of severe allergies and poor health.

How to get rid of the weevils that appeared in the apartment

One of the well-known pests of grain crops - the barn weevil - was found in grain stored in ancient graves in Egypt.

And until now, the weevils who have settled in the apartment of a person can, in a short time, put into disrepair a large part of the stocks of cereals, flour and pasta. These insects are common around the world.

Weevils (or elephants) - a large family of beetles, in which there are over 50 thousand different species. Barn weevil usually settles next to a person in an apartment. This is a small beetle up to 4 mm long of dark brown color with underdeveloped wings.

The insect cannot fly, but this does not interfere with its rapid resettlement. A female weevil can lay up to 300 eggs. For each of them, she gnaws a cave in a separate seed, and her hole is covered with special secretions after completion of masonry.

After 6-12 days, a larva emerges from the egg, which develops inside the grain, gnawing it from the inside almost completely. In the same cavity, the larva pupates. The appeared beetle gnaws a shell of grain and goes outside.

Barn beetle prefers grains of wheat, barley (pearl barley), rye, rice, less often damages corn and buckwheat. It can settle in pasta and packed flour.If weevils are found in cereals, then it is already undesirable to eat it, it is better to immediately get rid of these products and decide how to remove weevils in the kitchen.

To minimize damage even when weevils appear, store all cereals in separate airtight jars or containers

Methods of struggle

Weevil has sharp and strong teeth. This beetle easily gnaws the shell of the bags, making its way to food - flour or cereal. Therefore, having discovered a pest in the apartment, it is urgent to decide how to get rid of weevils. It is quite doable.

There are a number of simple proven ways to deal with weevil. Methods of combating this pest are based on the characteristics of its life and reproduction.

If at least one weevil beetle is found in the kitchen, it is necessary to check all the cereals, flour, pasta, as well as coffee, cocoa and tea stored in tables and cabinets, for the presence of pests in them. All infected products should be discarded, as the secretions of these insects and their larvae are carcinogenic.

Weevils are thermophilic insects. If the temperature drops to +5, the bugs freeze (fall into a stupor), and already at 5 degrees below zero - all eggs, larvae and adults will die in a month. So, cold can be used as a means of combating this pest.

If weevils are found, all products that can serve as food for them should be placed in a freezer for two to three days (you can use a balcony in winter) for quarantine. It is advisable to do the same with cereals and pasta brought from a store or from the market.

After processing, the products should be stored in glass or plastic containers that are not too tough for bugs. You can try to fight weevils with garlic. Peeled (but not chopped) cloves are laid out in containers where cereals are stored. Insects are scared away by their smell.

Cabinets and tables where food is stored are periodically wiped with soapy water and then with the addition of vinegar.

The usual bay leaf and lavender flowers, which are laid out on shelves, will help fight the invasion of weevils. They scare away pests.
No need to make significant stocks of products. They should be purchased as needed. It will be easier to track insect infestation and carry out maintenance work.

You can find agile weevils in places of congestion on your personal plot of garden and vegetable crops. Bugs like to form colonies in the apartment, in places where your stocks are stored: cereals, flour, dried fruits, and other food products.

You took the grains to measure, and there the long-nosed parasites scatter. Do not chase after them: too small, you can’t catch everyone. Through the holes, the fly swatter will slip unscathed. How to get rid of weevils? What to use as a weapon in the fight against this bug?

Garden poison, if bugs settled on trees and beds. You buy a drug in the store, breed according to the instructions, put on a mask (respirator), rubber gloves - and forth, to the battle with weevils. You start a military campaign in the early morning or late evening, so that the drug has time to process the leaves of plants, and does not evaporate immediately, poisoning the air.

If there are a lot of bugs, you will have to throw out the supply: even getting rid of adult insects, you will not get rid of the larvae that infected the product.
You send the infected cereals and flour to the freezer for a day or two. Beetles do not withstand low temperatures, they die.

An oven or pan is also a powerful weapon against weevils. It’s cruel, of course, to fry the cereals with the settlers in them, but if nothing is done, soon weevils will be everywhere.

Sprinkle supplies on baking sheets and send to the oven, heated to high temperatures, calcine, dry, stirring from time to time. Weevils will not.

Cereals, flour and weevils can be separated by sieving. The same is done with frozen and calcined supplies. Weevils are destroyed so that they do not return.

Bugs of pungent odors do not like. Cloves of garlic, wormwood and lavender branches, citrus peel (dried) will make weevils think three times before climbing into a jar.
Why in the bank? Beetle foods are best hidden in glass or tin containers with tight lids.

Who to fight with

This insect, known since ancient Egypt, belongs to the order Coleoptera beetles, and is a very serious pest that destroys vegetable and fruit crops, as well as various types of grain.

Currently, about 50 thousand species of weevils are known, among which only a few can become uninvited guests of your home and garden. These include:

Despite the presence of wings, some species of weevils are completely unable to fly, while others, on the contrary, use this skill perfectly. These insects also reproduce at tremendous speed. So, for example, a female barn weevil is able to make a laying of 300 eggs.

Weevil is able to destroy home stocks of cereals, flour and pasta

Where do weevils come from in apartments and why should they be brought out

One of the ways weevils get into the house are products that we bring from markets and shops. Typically, the infection of cereals with this type of parasite occurs in warehouses and in barns, the owners of which do not take preventive measures to destroy pests.

Prepackaged products containing weevil eggs are successfully sold in retail chains. In this case, you will not notice insects in packages that hatch in your apartment after the purchase of cereals. And the first traces of grain damage will be noticeable only after the development of mature individuals.

Their droppings can cause severe allergic reactions, leading to a serious deterioration in health. For this reason, when you first detect pests in your apartment, it is recommended that you urgently take measures to destroy them, preventing the possibility of reproduction and spread of diseases.

Folk remedies: what rice elephants are afraid of

To prevent the appearance and reproduction of weevils in your apartment, it is enough to use a few simple folk methods that are completely safe for people and pets.

Bringing cereal packages you just bought home, put them in the freezer for 3 hours. This will kill the larvae and eggs of the bugs without harming the food itself.

You can also use a microwave to destroy eggs and larvae of weevils. The purchased cereal should be poured with a thin layer into a container of a suitable size, after which the processing time should be set to 2-3 minutes. After the procedure is completed, it is advisable to rinse the grain properly and dry it for further storage.

Before sending bulk products for storage in a cabinet, properly treat its shelves with soapy water. And then wipe them with a weak vinegar solution. This will scare away pests from containers containing their favorite treats.

As a deterrent, you can also use lavender twigs or essential lavender oil, orange peels, bay leaves, clove seeds, garlic, tansy, chestnut fruits, mint or mint chewing gums, which should be laid out on shelves in the closet, not forgetting to change these natural repellers 1 time per month.

In containers with bulk products, you can also put peeled garlic, peeled, but not chopped. A garlic aroma that can hold out in a tightly closed jar for a very long time will scare away a gluttonous insect. You can use bay leaf in the same way.

If the weevil has chosen stocks of peas, it is recommended to pour a little dry red pepper in containers with this product.

To prevent weevils from wound up in the containers themselves, containing flour, cereals and pasta, you can use the following method.

Salt-treated fabric bags are great for storing flour.

1. Take a suitable container, and dilute in it a saturated saline solution, using ordinary salt and water.
2. To determine the required concentration of the solution, dip a raw egg into it. If the solution is strong enough, the egg will float on the surface.
3. Dip a cloth bag in the resulting solution and let the fabric soak.
4. Remove the bag from the solution and allow it to dry.

The flour stored in such bags will be reliably protected from pests.

Is chemical processing acceptable in the kitchen

Since the weevil prefers to settle in food, chemical treatment by industrial means at home is excluded.

Processing by these means is carried out using fumigation.In addition, the enterprises also use methods of aerosol and wet disinfection of premises and gas disinfection.

How to save home plants

In addition to food, weevils can also feed on a variety of indoor plants. Bugs eagerly eat buds of decorative roses, hydrangea and cyclamen.

If you want to protect your favorite flowers from these insects that are in the apartment, you can use this folk remedy:

• Take 100 g of mustard powder and dilute it in 3 liters of water.
• Add 40 g of laundry soap or ash to the solution.
• The resulting composition must be processed indoor plants several times.

Rating of the best chemicals, according to user reviews

In this case, you can also use industrial chemicals. The most effective of them, according to Internet users, are:

Prevention: so that bugs do not appear in the house

To prevent the re-emergence of weevils in the apartment, special attention must be paid to the conditions of food storage.

We note immediately that the fight against the parasite is extremely difficult. The reason is the fact that the larvae of the weevil are inside the clogged grains and people can observe only adult insects for a long time.

Timely destruction of these insects will prevent the possibility of their rapid reproduction and spoilage of food and domestic plants.